In the second chapter of the book of Job, we see Satan presenting himself again to the Lord, and the Lord is once again boasting of his servant Job. “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, faultless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil? He still holds fast to his innocence although you incited me against him to ruin him without cause.” Satan response to the Lord is very interesting. He said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has will he give for his life. But now put forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.” Now Satan is given permission to attack Job’s health. There are two ways that we fall away from the way of the Lord. One is through poverty and the second is ill health. When we lose material things, if we have no faith, we often look for an easy way out. When our children, our parents or our loved ones get sick, we may easily fall away from the path of God without strong faith. Job was attacked through these means to see how strong his faith in God was. No wonder the writer of the book of Proverbs prays in chapter 30:8-9, “Two things I ask of you, deny them not to me before I die: Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches: provide me only with the food I need; lest, being full, I deny you, saying, “Who is the Lord?” Or, being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God”. God boasts of his children to Satan to taunt him.
There was another man tested by God to prove his love for Him. The man’s name is Abraham. We call him our father in faith. Abraham was blessed with a son named Isaac. God knew how much Abraham loved Isaac and yet he wanted to know if Abraham loved Isaac more that he loved God. In this test God was more direct and less subtle. He called Abraham by name and made his request. “Abraham!” “Ready!” he replied. Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.” Imagine how Abraham felt at the thought of having to kill his son. But Abraham’s faith was so strong that he would not deny God anything, not even his son, whom he loved.
The bible tells us that as Abraham was going with his son to the place he was to sacrifice him to God, the young boy questioned his father: “Father!” he said. “Yes son,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?” “Son,” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” I wonder how this holy man felt at that question. Did he really believe God would provide anything other than his son? The fact is God did provide the sheep for the sacrifice. God was only testing Abraham. But did Abraham know that he was being tested? I doubt it.
The lesson in all these is that sometimes God uses our suffering to test our faith. He boasts of our faithfulness to Satan and God is happy (anthropomorphically speaking) when his children are faithful to him. The tragedy is that, as human beings, we have no way of knowing what God’s plan is for us. We are less patient with ourselves and want everything good to happen to us yesterday. Paul our brother explains it better in 1 Cor. 10:13, “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it”
When we look back at these two men, Job and Abraham, we notice that they were rewarded for their faithfulness to God. The book of Job ended with these verses; “ Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones. For he had fourteen thousand yoke of sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. And he had seven sons and three daughters. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years, and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. Then Job died, old and full of years. As for Abraham, apart from providing the sheep for the sacrifice, the Lord had this to say to him, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies. And in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing - all this because you obeyed my command.”
Fidelity is the key to success with God. The Book of Revelation 2:10 says it all: “Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” If we are found worthy to participate in the suffering of Christ, then we should bear it with equanimity and patience; it could be that God is talking to Satan about us. His blessing is not too far way from us. May the Lord meet you at the hour of your needs, and may the Lord of mercies notice your sacrifices and good works.
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